ARIZONA STATE SENATE

RESEARCH STAFF

BARBARA GUENTHER

LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST

FAMILY SERVICES COMMITTEE

Telephone: (602) 542-3171

Facsimile: (602) 542-7833

TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE

DATE: March 8, 2002

SUBJECT: Strike everything amendment to S.B. 1318 – appropriations; health programs

Purpose

Conditionally appropriates and prioritizes approximately $8.7 million in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 from tobacco settlement monies for three health related programs administered by either the Department of Economic Security (DES) or the Department of Health Services (DHS).

Background

In 1994, the Legislature enacted the Children and Families Stability Act, also known as Success by Six, which included the Healthy Families, Health Start and Family Literacy pilot programs. The goal of the DES Healthy Families Program is to reduce child abuse and neglect. The Office of the Auditor General published an evaluation of the Healthy Families Program, dated February 2001. The evaluation report concludes that child abuse rates for program participants were not significantly different than for the comparison group, but the program has been successful in providing health referrals, promoting safety and improving positive parent-child interactions. Goals of the DHS Health Start Program are to increase prenatal care, reduce and eliminate early childhood diseases and reduce the incidence of low birth weight in infants.

The DHS Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program began receiving $2 million per year beginning in FY 1996-1997 for abstinence programs in 17 local communities. DHS reports that teen births in Arizona are at the lowest rate since they began tracking this data in 1950. However, the majority of out-of-wedlock births are not to teenagers. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that birth rates for women in their 30s and 40s are at the highest level in thirty years and are increasing.

With the passage of legislation to implement Proposition 204, these three programs were allocated funding from the Tobacco Settlement. However, the anticipated fiscal impact of extending health care coverage to persons with income up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level as the top priority in this legislation has significantly increased since its passage, to over $70 million annually. During the recent Second Special Session, appropriations for the three health related programs were vetoed by the Governor.

The strike-everything amendment conditionally appropriates approximately $8.7 million in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 for the DES Healthy Families, DHS Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancy Prevention and DHS Health Start programs from tobacco settlement funds. If tobacco settlement funds are received in those fiscal years in excess of the amount needed for health care coverage, the excess funds are prioritized pursuant to Proposition 204.

Provisions

1. Conditionally appropriates and prioritizes approximately $8.7 million in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 from tobacco settlement funds, if funds are received in those fiscal years, to two state agencies as follows:

Programs	Fiscal Year 2001-2002	Fiscal Year 2002-2003	Totals
First Priority:
DES Healthy Families	$ 5,000,000	$ 5,000,000	$10,000,000
Second Priority:
DHS Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancy Prevention	2,514,500	2,518,600	5,033,100
Third Priority:
DHS Health Start	1,206,500	1,211,200	2,417,700
Totals	$ 8,721,000	$ 8,729,800	$17,450,800

2. Exempts the appropriations from lapsing.

3. Provides for a general effective date.

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